Fluffy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

These tender lemon poppy seed muffins are full of fresh lemon flavor with a fluffy texture and poppy seed crunch. They are so easy and delicious to make! There is citrus flavor throughout the fluffy muffin base, and they are topped with a lemon drizzle to give them a bit of an extra lemon kick.

close up of 4 muffins.

About these muffins

  • Super fluffy and tender. Thanks to the lemon juice and sour cream (or yogurt) in the wet ingredients, these muffins have an extra fluffy and tender crumb.
  • Make them in advance if you want! The batter can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 12 hours before being baked.
  • No mixer is needed. These lemon poppy seed muffins use melted butter so you don’t need an electric mixer.
  • Full of texture. Thanks to the poppy seeds in the batter and the lemony coarse sugar topping.
lemon muffin with the paper pulled back.

The muffin batter

The muffin batter is based on this strawberry lemon muffins, but with a few little tweaks. It’s a very easy batter to make, with melted butter and sour cream to bring rich flavor and moisture to the muffin base.

There is lots of lemon zest in the base, first rubbed into the sugar. This helps to release the lemon oils in the zest and bring that lemony flavor into the muffin.

lemon zest in sugar.

There’s lemon juice in there too, but that’s not just for flavor, the acidity in the lemon juice creates tender muffins by inhibiting the gluten formation in the batter.

Adding poppy seeds in these lemon muffins brings a fun element as the crunchy poppy seeds bring a little extra texture.

The muffins are initially baked at a higher temperature for 5 minutes before it’s turned down for the rest of the bake time. This helps give an initial boost of a rising power to the batter and creates a domed muffin top.

bitten lemon muffin.

The topping

When the muffins are hot out of the oven, they are topped with a simple mixture of granulated sugar and fresh lemon juice. The granulated sugar doesn’t dissolve in this mixture, so it also adds an element of crunch to the fluffy muffin.

The lemon juice soaks up into the muffins and brings more moisture.

The ingredients

Find the ingredient amounts for this lemon poppy seed muffin recipe listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a rundown of what you will need –

  • All-purpose flour
  • Baking powder
  • Baking soda
  • Salt
  • Poppy seeds
  • Melted butter – This can be salted or unsalted butter. You can reduce the salt slightly in the rest of the recipe if using salted butter.
  • Granulated white sugar – For in the muffin batter and also the topping.
  • Large eggs
  • Vanilla extract or paste
  • Fresh lemons – Both fresh lemon zest and juice are used. If you want an extra lemony muffin you can also add 1/2 a teaspoon lemon extract.
  • Sour cream or greek yogurt
  • Whole milk

Equipment

For this recipe, you’ll need a standard 12-cup muffin pan.

For larger bakery-style muffins, divide all the batter over 10 of the muffin holes, not 12.

Method

In a medium bowl combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Whisk together to combine and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the granulated sugar and the lemon zest. Use your fingers to rub the lemon zest into the sugar to release the lemon oils and bring the best flavor.

Add in the melted butter, eggs, sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. Whisk it together until well combined.

lemon zest sugar.
a whisk in yellow batter.

Tip in your dry ingredients, and fold them together with a rubber spatula alternating with the milk. Don’t over mix it or your muffins will be dense.

milk being poured in batter.
lemon poppy seed batter.

Cover the muffin batter bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.

Make ahead

The batter can also be covered and refrigerated for up to 12 hours before being divided and baked. Note that scoop will be much thicker after a long rest.

Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners.

a scoop of batter.
muffin batter in cases.

Divide the batter evenly over the muffin liners. If you want a large bakery muffin, fill only 10 of the muffin cups with batter so that each muffin is fuller.

Bake the muffins at 425°F/220°C for 5 minutes then turn the oven down to 350°F/180°C and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are lightly golden brown and the muffin tops spring back when pressed in the center. For mini muffins, the baking time will need to be reduced.

When the muffins have only a couple of minutes left of baking, mix together the lemon juice and sugar for the topping.

As the hot muffins come from the oven, prick the tops of the muffins with a cake tester or toothpick. Then generously drizzle them with the crunchy topping. The holes are to let the lemon juice penetrate further into the baked muffins and create a really moist texture.

Once drizzled, remove the muffins from the tin and let the cool further on a wire rack.

syrup being drizzled onto a muffin.

Serving and storing

Enjoy these homemade muffins as a delicious breakfast treat or an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee. Leftover muffins can be stored at room temperature, covered for up to 3 days.

They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Store in an airtight freezer bag or container.

halved lemon poppy seed muffin.

More recipes

close up of lemon poppy seed muffin.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

These tender lemon poppy seed muffins are full of fresh lemon flavor with a fluffy texture and poppy seed crunch.

Ingredients

  • 250g (2 cups*) all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon zest
  • 200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
  • 113g (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
  • 60g (1/4 cup) sour cream or greek yogurt, room temperature
  • 120g (1/2 cup) whole milk, room temperature

Topping

  • 60g (1/4 cup) lemon juice
  • 50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Whisk together to combine and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl combine the granulated sugar and the lemon zest. Use your fingers to rub the lemon zest into the sugar to release the lemon oils and bring the best flavor.
  3. Add in the melted butter, eggs, sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. Whisk it together until well combined.
  4. Tip in your dry ingredients, and fold them together with a rubber spatula alternating with the milk. Take care not to overmix the batter.
  5. Cover the muffin batter bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.
  6. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
  7. Divide the batter evenly over the muffin liners.
  8. Bake the muffins at 425°F/220°C for 5 minutes then turn the oven down to 350°F/180°C and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are lightly golden brown and the muffin tops spring back when pressed in the center. For mini muffins, the baking time will need to be reduced.
  9. When the muffins have only a couple of minutes left of baking, mix together the lemon juice and sugar for the topping.
  10. As the hot muffins come from the oven, prick the tops of each muffin a few times with a skewer so the topping can soak in. Then generously drizzle the muffins with the crunchy lemon sugar topping. 
  11. Once drizzled, remove the muffins from the tin and let the cool further on a wire rack.

Notes

*The cup sizes given are US sizes, note that these are smaller than metric. For best results use grams.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 255Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 216mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 1gSugar: 18gProtein: 5g

This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist

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7 Comments

  1. Another great recipe, thanks Elien. This takes me back to the early 2000s when lemon poppyseed muffins (in fact, muffins of every variety) were the big thing! I’ve made this recipe twice now and worked out beautifully both times. Thank you!

  2. I wanted a sweet treat for breakfast today. These muffins were amazing. I had to lock up my dog because she loves my baked goods and would have cleared the rack!

  3. Thanks for the recipe. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but my lemon/sugar topping was not crunchy. I poked holes in the tops of the muffins, but the topping was very runny. When I poured it on, it just ran off. I ended up dipping the tops in the liquid. Any suggestions? Thanks!

    1. Hey Lori, the topping should be very runny because of the lemon juice, but I kind of scoop the sugar from the lemon sugar mixture and dollop that on the muffins. That way it creates a crunchy top.

  4. Let’s just start, I love baking and I’ve never baked something so delicious in my life before.
    The crunchy topping wasn’t crunchy, it was just liquid and super tasty.
    Also, there was milk written in the ingredients, but not in the recipe. I decided to add it with the wet ingredients and I think I made a good choice… maybe you can add it in the recipe?
    It confused me quite a bit haha.
    But again, nog nooit zoiets lekkers gebakken!

    1. Hey! So happy you loved them! There is milk written in the recipe. It’s in the step where the dry ingredients are added 🙂
      Bedankt voor je mooie feedback!

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